Golden Wind
by SE46 Mantis
Summary: Certainly, one can assume the renowned billionaire Elesa and her beloved Skyla have a perfect relationship in every sense of the term, but let that assumption stumble and gape in surprise when one learns that their alter-egos are the opposing forces of domination and freedom within Unova. Alternate Universe (AU), Airplaneshipping (Skyla x Elesa)


_Note: And so, my first story arrives! Simply an Alternate Universe scenario exploring a Skyla/Elesa story where they possess alter-egos, which are in fact arch-enemies, and how that may impact the 'normal' aspect of their relationship. Granted, this story is far Lighter and Softer and less ominously implicating than such a concept might entail, but it suits me._

_Excluding the obvious differences, forgive me for any mistakes I may make on some of the game's concepts and such. While I am fond of this specific pairing, the Pokemon franchise itself is not my particular strong point. Sounds odd, considering it's the first fandom I am posting a fanfic in, but yes._

_Oh, and be on the lookout for these: *. These little stars indicate a brief fact about the AU that will explained at the end._

_Well, I hope you enjoy the story nevertheless._

Everything had been going so well. It had been so perfect, you know. The generator was working, producing more than enough energy to fuel the electro-magnetic disruptor. Just one simple throw of the switch away, one simple press of the gleaming blue button, and a pulse of chaotic energy would have spread across the entire continent, bringing down practically every electrical grid within range, paving the way for her takeover against a helpless Unova, and all other regions to follow.

Clad within the sleek black-and-yellow armour that made her Storm Steel, one of the notorious supervillains in Unova's history, a mastermind armed with the greatest technologies and most competent agendas, Elesa had grinned, feeling a thrill unlike any other as she prepared to bring the region under her control. Her typical attitude was a stoic demeanour, but occasionally she'd cut some slack and smile now and then, and this was one of those occasions.

Or it would have been, had it not been for _her._

The opposite wall of the expansive chamber crumbled under the force of massive gales, howling winds raging into the room and throwing back any unlucky henchman in its path. Storm Steel raised an arm to shield her blue visor from the winds, and underneath the helmet, Elesa's eyes widened in utter disbelief and rage, smile contorting into a feral snarl, as the one person she could not tolerate to see at the moment waltzed right in.

Whirlwind was always so brash and dynamic in her entrances; even now, dust and small bits of rock whirled around as the air formed a defensive barrier around her, easily blocking all blasts of energy emanating from her minion's electro-blasters. The aerokinetic glanced around the room, before her sharp blues eyes locked onto Storm Steel, and she smirked.

The barrier of air expanded into a shockwave, sweeping the remaining minions off their feet, and she leapt high into the air, propelled by the winds she commanded, and unleashed a pulse that streaked straight her nemesis. Storm Steel leapt out of the way, but the attack had done its job of pushing her away from the console, away from the button that would allow her utter control over Unova.

Still hovering above her, Whirlwind called down to her foe: "Give it up, Storm Steel; shut down the generator while I'm still feeling merciful."

She hated the utter smugness in the flyer's voice, hated that challenging grin and sparkling blue eyes, and thus Storm Steel responded with a simple gesture of raising an arm and showing her palm. Instantly, a wire burst out of a socket on her wrist, wrapped itself around Whirlwind's leg, and with a heft of her body and a withdraw of the grappler, dragged her foe out of the sky and onto the floor, hard enough to leave a crack in the smooth marble.

Whirlwind pulled herself free of the wire, durable as always, and flung herself forward, a burst of air shoving her shoulder-first into her foe, knocking the armoured warrior back a few steps. Storm Steel's visor flashed menacingly, and she drew the wire like a whip, sending it cracking towards Whirlwind, who leaned out of the way and shot a pulse of wind that hit her foe on the head, disorientating her for a few seconds, more than enough time to get back airborne and fire a few more bursts at her.

Elesa rolled out of the way, and with a clench of her first, unsheathed a shoulder mounted electro-blaster which returned fire; Whirlwind was forced to conjure a spinning wall of wind to block the blasts, given Storm Steel the perfect chance to whip at her, striking the other woman's undefended side with a crackled of electricity; she yelped in shock and pain, but managed to avoid plummeting to the ground with steady maintenance of the winds keeping aloft.

"You're gonna need to do better than that!" Whirlwind taunted, only to squeak in shock as she zipped backwards to avoid a concentrated beam of electrical energy.

Utilising the distraction, Storm Steel turned her attention to the great generator, still whirling with power, and smirked under her helmet. Of course, in the off-chance Whirlwind had discovered her lair, the generator was designed to remotely activate the electro-magnetic disruptor after a short period of time. All she needed to do was to stall her nemesis long enough-

But unfortunately, Whirlwind must have thought of this herself, because she changed course and darted straight for the generator in a flow of wind. Panic flowed through Storm Steel, the horrible fear of failure and losing her precious creation, and she charged forward, her armour-enhanced legs allowing her to catch up to the flyer, who was experimentally throwing spheres of air at the device to try to find a weak point under the thick armour.

_"You get away from that!" _The villain cried, natural voice distorted by mechanics*, as she flung her sparking wire after her nemesis in a desperate manoeuvre to stop her. But Whirlwind saw it coming, and deflected the attack with a wave of her arm.

She deflected it right onto the generator.

Storm Steel saw it happening, saw her weapon change course, but she couldn't stop it in time; her wire latched onto the metal surface, right onto a chink in the armour that displayed some of the inner workings of the device, and released the electric volts; suddenly, an alarm on the generator flared, high-pitched and screaming, and the machine crackled with malfunction, electricity flickering off it, before suddenly, with a belch of smoke, powered down and ceased to continue its operation.

And that was it. Her plan had been foiled, so swiftly, before it had even truly begun. She had been denied the world yet again. The generator and thus the disrupter defeated. Once more, Whirlwind had triumphed.

Words could not begin to describe the storm of emotions boiling over the normally stoic Elesa's face, hidden under the helmet of her armour; rage, horror, failure, disbelief, frustration, all melding into a mix of utter defeat and anger.

A mechanical screech of rage, ripping her wire free of the generator, and before Whirlwind could stop her, she activated rocket boosters built onto her back and feet, and soared upwards in a roar of fire, crashing through the ceiling with astonishing ease, crumbling rock breaking around her as the sheer force of her flight and the strength of her armour obliterated the ground above her, and she smashed her way out of the underground bunker in an explosion of rock and dirt into the open sky, and, free of the earth's confines, rocketed off into the night, the sparking wire trailing after her.

In the haze of failure and anger as the armour streaked across the sky, she barely noticed she had reached her destination until she almost crashed into it; seeing the approaching walls just in time, she propelled herself above the mansion that sat on the outskirts of Nimbasa City, sheltered by the expanse of fields and trees from the main city. Landing in the beautiful garden, dotted with exotic plants and fountains, a sculpture here and there and a large driveway with a parking space containing several expensive vehicles, she approached a statue of her once-great father and roughly poked the stone's thigh. A click of mechanics, and a large tube emerged from the grass just behind it, and Storm Steel stepped into it, bristling with rage so intense that one may feel its pulse even through her armour.

The tube drew her underground, and she stepped out into a stunningly advanced laboratory, brimming with technological wonders, intriguing devices and most noteworthy of all, three glass cases lining one of the walls, each containing the same suit of highly-advanced armour that Elesa currently wore; always useful to have some spares. She stepped into the middle of a red ring on the floor and tapped her foot twice; instantly, her armour began to break apart, joints hissing as panels unclicked, as mechanical arms rose from the floor and assisted in removing the black-and-yellow metal covering her. Elesa took a deep breath of unprocessed air as her helmet was removed, her twin bangs of black hair unfurling down her chest, but it did nothing to remedy her anger. Once that which made her Storm Steel was fully removed, she stepped out of the ring, snatched her distinctive headphones off a silver pedestal and headed towards the door, shuddering under the storm of emotions clouding her mind and forming a distinctively ugly look on her normally beautiful features.

The lithe woman stepped out into a corridor, stalked along it, up a set of stairs, pushed a button on the wall and the steel door before her swung open, allowing her access to the foyer of her grand mansion, a charming place decorated with pictures, smaller statues than those in the garden, exotically patterned carpets and gleaming chandeliers upon the ceiling. The door behind her swung closed, cunningly blending in with the wall and further hidden by the grandfather clock that slid back into place in front of it.

Elesa stood there for a moment, simply seething, struggling to regain coherence, before she shouted, a sound that echoed throughout the whole mansion: "BURGH! Get over here **NOW**!"

To his credit, despite the rather late time at night (11:14 PM, to be specific), Burgh was prompt in his arrival, coming down the grand staircase at a brisk pace, followed by his loyal Leavanny. Granted, he was in his pyjamas of bright green trousers and shirt, but he had at least thrown on his silken bottle-green overcoat to at least confirm his image as the billionaire's personal butler and essential right-hand man.

Burgh was an interesting story; he was an old friend of Elesa's from school, with a passion for art and for Bug-types. But unfortunately, after he finished school, he found it difficult to secure a job; his eccentric nature and his habit of day-dreaming made it rather hard for employers to take him seriously, let alone employ him. Struggling to get by, desperate and alone, he did the only thing he could think to do; go to Elesa for help. Sympathetic to his plight, given their old friendship, she employed him as her personal butler, a personal second-in-command, allowing him to stay at her home in exchange for his service. He knew of her secret identity and ambitions, though he did not partake in them himself, and had served her well these past few years.

They came to a stop in front of her, both human and Pokemon raising an eyebrow at the lady's uncharacteristic temper, before Burgh stated: "Yes, Ma'am?"

"I don't care what it is, but I need to get me something from the kitchen that's sugary sweet, pumped with caffeine and certain to get me hyper." She snarled, stalking past her butler, intending to head to her office and introduce her head to the desk for a while.

He asked the obvious: "Plot foiled again?"

She froze in her tracks, shuddered with anger, and turned towards him, his Leavanny employing the immortal face-palm at the poor choice of words. If looks could kill, he'd be ten feet underground in a coffin by now. He realised his mistake, though he managed to maintain his professional demeanour save for a slight gulp despite her evil glare, and added: "Apologies. What I meant to say was; interruptions to your latest project?"

Elesa gave a demented jolt of laughter, running her hands through her ebony hair and the strap of her headphones: "Oh, ha ha! You don't know the half of it, Burgh. I was so close, _SO CLOSE_, to getting that disruptor running and bringing this damn place to its knees. But just as I was going to press the button, **BAM!** In she comes, and ruins everything! Second damn time this **DAMN MONTH!"**

She paused and took a deep breath, struggling to rein in her temper and regain her typical stoic psyche. Her butler offered a sympathetic pat on the back and said: "You're getting overly stressed, Ma'am. You know how she feels about your grand aspirations."

Elesa threw him another look that would have seen him on the wrong side of a coffin: "Yes, I'm well aware of how _she _feels."

Her frighteningly quiet tone escalated into an un-ladylike shriek of pure rage that had him swiftly backing away, his Leavanny flinching at the high-pitched noise: "**THAT DOESN'T MEAN I HAVE TO LIKE IT!"**

He waited a moment for her to bring herself down, panting with frustrated exertion, before he said, a tad more informal and sympathetic: "I'll fetch you a soda, Elesa. I assume I'll find you in the office. But please, take it from me; calm down and think things through before she gets back."

With that, he turned and strode off, his Bug-type skipping after him. Elesa huffed, before stalking around the staircase, wrenching open the door to her quarters, slammed it behind her, flopped down onto the comfy armchair behind the gleaming desk and roughly slammed her head down onto it.

Taking a moment to rub the throbbing ache in her forehead and forcing her brain to stop quivering in disorientation, Elesa groaned and slumped back into her chair, thinking about this vicious cycle; try a plot, get stopped, try again, stopped again. It was a never-ending constant, and it seemed no matter how hard she tried, no matter what deception she employed, Whirlwind always tracked her down and always beat her.

Well, not always; occasionally Storm Steel had won their fights, and had either driven off or imprisoned her nemesis. But Whirlwind came back stronger or simply escaped. It was, as aforementioned, a never-ending constant, a cycle that never truly ended well for her. Chances are, as of now, her foe was dismantling the disruptor, the generator, summoning the Special Forces to take possession of her minions and equipment, and finishing it all off by basking in victory.

The thought made Elesa squirm in anger, and she seized her stress-reliever (a plump little Tynamo that made squeaky noises) and began repeatedly and firmly squeezing the blubbery device in an attempt to blow over her frustration, focussing on the rubbery feel of the stress-reliever. Burgh's Leavanny stopped by to deliver a can of fizzling lemonade, which she downed in less than a minute and began coughing bubbles out her nose, before giving a dreadful burp.

Clutching her stomach with one hand to try and squeeze out the new ache, she inadvertently glanced at her other hand, and suddenly, her thoughts, her feels, even time itself, seemed to freeze as she noted the gleaming ring* on her, well, ring finger. Perfectly round, perfectly smooth, it was a bright gold in colour (probably because it was actually made of gold), save for a single sapphire embedded in it, twinkling a beautiful blue, and small etchings in the surface similar to lightning bolts. It evoked memories and emotions, and for a moment, Elesa was transfixed by the ring and all it represented.

Then she sighed, and clenched her hand into a fist, averting her eyes from the beautiful little trinket.

She wasn't sure how long she sat there, squeezing the Tynamo-toy and thinking dark thoughts, but as she reasserted control over her temper, Burgh again entered and stated: "Ma'am, the lady of the house wishes to see you."

Elesa narrowed her eyes: "Surely, it is obvious that I am no mood to talk to her right now?"

Burgh held no regard for her dismissal: "She's insistent, Ma'am. You may as well get it over with now instead of letting it build up. Goodnight."

He left, and Elesa threw her stress-reliever at where he had just been, the toy hitting the now-shut door with a loud squeak, and she gripped her long bangs and pulled hard, the flare of pain causing her to hiss. She did not want to go talk right now, she didn't want to discuss the evening's happenings, she just wanted to sit down and mope. Was that too much to ask for? She controlled the most successful electronic-and-technology business in the whole continent, she was the most infamous and powerful supervillain in the underworld, she was filthy stinking rich, having earned her first billion years ago, and yet she wasn't even allowed a moment to vent.

Well, fine. Get this crap out of the way first, before her opposition barged into her office.

Making her way out of the smaller room, she strode into the foyer, firmly holding a stoic façade over the well of negative thoughts, eyes narrowed and searching for their target. She could tell that she was in the vicinity; the fact the main chandelier was shaking slightly and the subtle movements of dust indicated unnatural breezes flowing around, and indeed, the richest woman in Unova didn't need to search long; the lady of the house was sat on the stairs, a bit higher than the bottom, arms folded around herself as her eyes locked onto Elesa.

Skyla tilted her head slightly, a simple apologetic sadness on her face, blue eyes equally saddened as they gazed into Elesa's own; no longer clad in that navy-blue jumpsuit and pilot's helmet that made her Whirlwind, she was dressed in those light-blue pyjamas, the cotton shirt and trousers, that Elesa had bought her for her birthday mere months ago, her hair wrapped up in that forward-facing tuft held by the propeller hair-piece, and the way her body was slightly curled up, her legs held close to her, made her seem rather small and pitiful.

Despite the anger, despite the failure, Elesa felt a sharp pang in her heart at the sincere sadness on Skyla's face, the sincere sadness in her eyes that crawled straight to her soul, at once again having to confront this situation. It was the kind of pang that jammed in like a knife and stayed there like a rotting infection, and some tiny part of her mind once again asked her if Storm Steel , if total global domination, was worth this, this consistent struggle.

She sighed, folded her arms as she settled into a cold demeanour, eyes narrowing, and spoke: "To be honest, I'm not in the mood. Whatever you have to say, say it."

"I'm sorry."

Skyla's voice was as soft and regretful as her expression and posture, but despite that pang, despite a second one clenching at her heart, it sparked an indignant annoyance in the other woman, whom retorted: "Sorry. For yet another operation you've reduced to rubble. That's all you have to say?"

The red-head nervously raised a hand to fiddle with a crimson bang: "It's all I can say, really. I don't regret stopping it, but I regret hurting your feelings."

She paused, and added: "I didn't destroy that generator, though."

"Of course," Elesa sneered, shaking her head as she turned away from Skyla and those soul-probing eyes. "That's so nice to know. You don't want to hurt my feelings, but you have absolutely no problem at all screwing up ages of planning, preparation, construction and all other factors that went into the Disruptor project. Oh, and even better; you apparently hold a worthless machine in higher regard than my aspirations."

Skyla bit her lip, and Elesa was fairly sure she felt the air pressure in the room increase, the chandelier shaking more prominently now. Skyla's aerokinesis had an emotional factor to them; the calmer she was, the more control she had, but if emotions took their toll, in stressful situations like this, her powers would become more unstable, more difficult to restrain*.

There was silence for a few seconds, a struggle to regain her focus and calm the air around them, before the red-head responded: "Elesa, you know I can't….. I can't just sit by and let it happen. I don't believe in what y-Storm Steel wants to do." She looked up, and despite the cruel intent of her comment before this, Elesa's heart ached when she saw the glint of unshed tears. "I-I can't let it happen."

Elesa had come out here hoping for a vicious argument or anything similar that could justify her anger and frustration, anything that could truly unleash her zealous indignation of the defeat of Storm Steel. But how could she possibly continue this fight when confronted by a crying girl, not the mighty Whirlwind? Skyla's tears, barely contained, exterminated any desire to really heat up the conflict, forced a blockade on those negative thoughts. Elesa was the one to now bite her lip, unable to bring herself to muster a retaliatory response.

Finally, feeling that cold defeat for the second time tonight, she sighed, rubbing her forehead, and moved to the stairs: "I know you can't. I'm not talking about this anymore."

She moved up the stairs, as Skyla quickly got to her feet, and moved around the other woman. Or she would have, if Skyla hadn't grabbed her hand and turned her towards her, desperately whimpering: "Elesa, please. Please don't be angry. Say-"

"Say what? What do you want me to say?" She interrupted, her tone a cross between weariness and annoyance, making a point at not looking the other woman's eyes, to not look at those tears. However, she found a far more potent sight on Skyla's hand; her own ring. It was identical to Elesa's in the simple smoothness, but it was reversed in colour and construct design; the ring gleamed bright blue, save for the golden circlet embedded onto its surface.

She remembered the day Skyla had worn that ring for the first time; a glorious day of celebration, happiness and of being dressed in glittering black and yellow silk, watching the most beautiful person to walk the Earth approach her, the people cheering and a sensation of being the happiest girl in the whole world, the universe-

"Say you're not mad at me." Skyla murmured, leaning down to try and find Elesa's eyes. "Say you love me."

The second sentence might as well have reached in and squeezed her heart hard enough to burst it. Elesa gulped without willing it, and she instinctively reacted by cupping Skyla's chin in her free hand, lifting it slightly to face her. Their eyes met, and she moved a thumb to wipe away a single tear that dribbled free of the duct and had tried to escape Skyla's cheek.

"I love you." She said. "I'll never stop loving you. But I'm done for tonight."

She let Skyla go and went up the stairs, the anger and frustration having burned away now, replaced by that cold regret and damning tiredness, as well as a new-born guilt that had her wondering if that had been unnecessarily harsh, the way she had phrased the end of the conversation and had simply left Skyla on the stairs. And again, she wondered if following her father's teachings was worth it; what good could ruling the world do you when the one person who truly loved you, stood by you no matter what, would only be hurt and upset by it?

Elesa knew she could never stop being Storm Steel, never stop that desire to assert her domination over everyone on this planet that her father had ingrained into her since childhood. It was in her blood, in her thoughts, in her dreams, that innate desire to rule the world, hyperbolic as it may seem. As much as she hated to admit it, she'd probably never see the end of this; the constant emotional conflicts between Elesa and Skyla when Storm Steel and Whirlwind clashed, again and again and again. It wasn't exactly the healthiest aspect of their relationship.

But what she said was true; she could never stop loving her Skyla, no matter what their alter-egos did. Skyla was the sun to her earth, the stars to her night, the beauty and kindness that made life so much more wonderful. She was the one who would comfort Elesa after a terrible day or an unforeseen tragedy, the one who would snuggle up to her in bed and whisper how much she cared for her, the one who had burst into tears, all but screamed the word yes, and hugged her tightly when she had shown her that gleaming blue ring for the first time, the one who knew her for what she truly was at heart.

Not the billionaire, not the technological genius, not Storm Steel. Just Elesa.

Elesa felt a tear of her own well up, and swiftly brushed it off, hating the flash of weakness it brought. Around 90% of the time, their relationship was practically perfect. Except for times like these.

She reached their bedroom, faintly aware of the soft footsteps behind her, and opened the door. The room was quite a contrast to the main lobby; rather than whatever exotic colourings, decorations and additions dotted about the first step into the mansion, the bedroom was much simpler, more personal; one half was predominantly yellow, save for the white carpet, bearing a titanic wardrobe big enough to fit a Wailmer or two, a bedside cabinet, a large set of drawers and a door that led to the shared bathroom. The other side had similar features, but the items and walls were mainly blue, and it lacked its own door, thought it did possess a window that led to a large balcony. But most eye-catching was the massive king-sized bed; it had no blue or yellow features, but instead, the covers were a simple green, an odd contrast to the asymmetrical colouring of the rest of the room.

Elesa headed for her drawers and dug around for nightwear. She was aware that Skyla had followed her in, and the rustling of covers indicated she had gone straight to the bed, but she couldn't bring herself to look at her yet. Instead, settling on black bottoms and a yellow vest, she headed to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and groaning slightly at the weariness of it all. A sharp voice command, and the lights sprang on, leaving her faced with her reflection in the large mirror. Arceus above, she looked tired, eyes lidded and demeanour severely sagging.

A quick change out of her black-and-yellow bodysuit, a sleek and necessary undergarment for the main amour, followed up by splashing her face with cold water, the freezing sensation making her gasp, and a swift brushing of her teeth and gargle of mouthwash, and she clutched the sink, steadying herself. The water had refreshed her a tad, but she still felt honestly quite pained. Chugging that whole soda hadn't helped.

Well, there was no point anymore. No point thinking bad of the past, of thinking bad of her wife's morality. Just go to bed, deal with repercussions tomorrow. She huffed, ordered the lights off, and went to do just that.

Skyla was facing towards the bathroom, her red hair and blue eyes just visible, since she'd curled herself under the blanket like a Swadloon will curl itself up in leaves. She glanced at Elesa, but said nothing, merely staring. It was only then, just before she reached her side, did the owner of the mansion notice what else was on the bed.

A plate, with a single chocolate-chip cookie on it.*

Surprised, she leaned down and picked up the little biscuit, examining it. It was darker than a normal cookie, indicating a double chocolate-chip variant, and brown titbits of chocolate were ingrained into the biscuits main body, forming a rather appealing image in the circular treat. It felt rather rough, yet malleable, and it had a beautiful scent, enticing and wonderfully chocolaty. Elesa glanced from the biscuit to Skyla's blanket-covered form, whose blue eyes twinkled knowingly.

As always, her wife knew what she needed better than she did. Double chocolate-chip cookies were her favourite snack in the whole world: Everything always felt better after a cookie was applied, even emotionally-wracking confrontations or failed plots.

For the first time this night since before she had nearly pushed that button, Elesa smiled, almost driven to laugh at how easily it was to cheer her up and seeing this reassuring gesture coerced Skyla out of the blankets, arranging herself in a seated position and returned the smile, far wider than Elesa's and brighter too. She hopped onto the bed, tossing her headphones onto the bedside cabinet, and knelt before the red-head, whom asked: "Better?"

Elesa consumed the cookie whole, crunching it into bits, revelling in the chocolaty goodness, before swallowing the biscuit, allowing herself a satisfied purr, Skyla raising an eyebrow at the rather crude manner of eating, and she replied: "Much."

Skyla nodded in satisfaction and tentatively spread her arms. Elesa gazed at the gesture for a brief moment, before leaning forward and accepting Skyla's tight hug; while aerokinesis was her wife's claim to heroic fame, she also had secondary aspects that better assisted her main power, most notably an almost superhuman strength and durability, hence why Elesa wheezed slightly as her torso got rather squashed. Nevertheless, it was warm and comforting, and she returned it enthusiastically.

How funny. Barely minutes ago, she had felt quite awful, and earlier than that, downright enraged, hateful, frustrated with another failure, but now-

"I hate it when we- I mean, I hate it when Whirlwind and Storm Steel fight, you know." Skyla murmured, nestling her head on the other woman's shoulder, shifting against her slightly as she relaxed her grip so not to crush her wife's torso. "I wish things weren't that complicated."

"I wish that too." Elesa replied, gently stroking the red-head's back, briefly musing on a world where Whirlwind and Storm Steel might well have been allies. "Well, we get by, don't we?"

"I guess so."

And well, they did. Yes, Elesa felt that the world would be a better place under her command. Why wouldn't it? She had rebuilt the reputation and power of Kamitsure Industries when her father's own desires had been discovered, and if she could salvage a company that had almost died, transformed it into Unova's most powerful industry, surely she could elevate the whole world to a higher status. But Skyla didn't believe in that, didn't believe in stripping the freedom of the people away; her moral compass had always pointed north, and thus she would fight Storm Steel no matter what to preserve that freedom. Elesa had to admit, though she hated the defeats and fights it led to, that she adored Skyla's strong morality; it made her so optimistic and strong-willed, and it soothed Elesa with the knowledge that her own sense of morality, while certainly less upright than her wife, would never descend to the terrible depths that other villains had devolved to.

But, thinking about Storm Steel some more, maybe it was for the best that Whirlwind had always been there to stop her. There was that old saying, that power corrupts, and Elesa couldn't deny there was a chance she might fall into that trap if she did one day succeed. After all, her mind-set in the years before she had met Skyla had more resembled her father's than who she was today. Elesa supposed she hadn't really thought of what would happen if she actually did bring Unova and the other regions down to their knees; would Skyla still stay with her, or leave her out of disgust? At least she could comfort herself that she knew she wouldn't resort to outright tyranny or murder; she loved Skyla too much to betray her that way.

It was a rather conflicting position, psychologically desiring to rule and yet fearful of her love's response. But she supposed she'd have to wait and see what happens if that day ever came. At least Storm Steel didn't have to worry about it right now.

She had to restrain the urge to laugh now. A psychologist would have a field day unravelling the finer schematics of this relationship.

There was silence as Elesa went through this, the two of them simply content to have reconciled, holding each other tenderly, before Elesa decided that she should make up for her previous attitude, and thus asked, rather playfully: "Do you have any more of those cookies?"

She felt Skyla giggle and grin into her shoulder: "Yep. But they're hiding."

Elesa chuckled, sensing a beautiful opportunity to cement their make-up: "And tell me, gorgeous; what do I have to do to get them?"

Her wife leaned back and smiled widely at her, a cheerful gust of wind twirling around her bangs: "Well; you could start with this."

This said, Skyla leaned forward and captured the other girl's mouth with her own, wrapping her arms around Elesa's neck to draw her yet closer, both women sinking into each other. The soft lips upon hers, Elesa felt a thrill shoot through her, like lightning, incomparable to any other sensation, as if all life's troubles melted away, leaving nothing but this glowing satisfaction and happiness.

She pushed forwards, shoving Skyla onto her back, laying upon her as the aerokinetic groaned in pleasure, the air around them twirling in light breezes, soothingly cool against their skin. Elesa released her, drawing in oxygen with rather ragged breaths, and taking great delight in seeing Skyla panting and anticipating below her, before she murmured seductively: "My, it seems Whirlwind has fallen into my trap."

Skyla gave a rather excited giggle; amusingly, she had always been drawn into that specific role-play during their more mature activities, perhaps a secret desire to see what it would be like for her nemesis to win and secure her victory over her in a carnal fashion*, and thus she answered: "Oh no! What are you going to do to me, Storm Steel?"

The black-haired beauty grinned: "Why, dear nemesis, whatever I want to."

Skyla giggled again, and this time, Elesa muffled her with a heated kiss.

_Note: And voila, a sugarsweet ending!_

_And now to explain the stars if you found them:_

_*1: As you can imagine, Elesa's helmet making her voice more mechanical in nature is very useful in hiding her identity. Add in her armour's gender-ambigious design and it's hard to tell if it's a male or female under there. Of course, we the viewers know, but most other characters are stumped.  
*2: I have no idea what the actual game canon's stance is on same-sex marriage, but for the sake of plot convenience, it's acceptable within this specific AU.  
*3: Skyla's aerokinesis having an emotional factor to it is, me personally, quite interesting. She'll have to be careful to keep herself in check lest a particuarly bad mood tears down the city in a violent hurricane.  
*4: Cookies are very good. Very very good.  
*5: When your arch-enemy is also your lover, it's inevitable that this scenario may pop up now and then._

_Now, if enough viewers wish it so, I am more than happy to add more chapters to further delve into this scenario and the other shennanigins of Whirlwind and Storm Steel, but I am content to let it stand alone if so desired._

_I hope you had fun reading this regardless._


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